Alma 38 All

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Alma 38:1-5

The Book of Mormon > Alma > Chapter 38

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Questions

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Verse 1

"Prosper in the land" vs. "cut off from his presence." We might expect that prospering in the land as a result of keeping the commandments would be juxtaposed to not prospering in the land as a result of not keeping the commandments. However, Alma does not say this. Instead, he says that not keeping the commandments will result in being cut off from God's presence. Why?

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Lexical notes

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Exegesis

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Verse 4

Although Alma starts off in verse 1 talking about prospering in the land as a result of obedience, it is clear that Shiblon has generally been obedient but has undergone a lot of hardship. So, whatever blessings there are for obedience to God, they do not seem to include the avoidance of hardship. This may help bridge the distance between the two concepts juxtaposed in verse 1, prospering in the land vs. being cut off from God's presence. That is, prospering in the land seems to mean something different than immediate avoidance of hardship. Rather, perhaps it is referring to a deferred blessing, and a blessing that does not imply that things will be easy. Although Shiblon has undergone a lot of hardships, but he has kept the commandments (cf. verse 2) and the Lord has been with him—and as a result of his patience, "the Lord was with [him]," Alma says.

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Verse 5

In verse 4, Alma says, "now thou knowest that the Lord will deliver thee." Here, Alma seems to admonish Shiblon to remember what he already knows. This bridging of time between what happened in the past and what should be preserved in the future, seems to be an important theme throughout these first verses of the chapter. That is, the patience talked about in verse 4 also seems to establish a sort of bridge through time, between current hardship and future deliverance.

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